The Sandhills squad picked up a 2-1 win over the Winston-Salem Twins in the first match, but dropped the second match 3-1 against TASC Avalanche.
In the opener against Winston-Salem, Thunder jumped to a 1-0 lead at the 2:30 mark when Westley Grannis buried the penalty kick awarded when striker Tommy Ransdell was pushed in the box. Winston-Salem responded with a goal headed off a corner kick at the 12th minute of play.
With three minutes remaining in the first half, Ransdell fed Willie Ross on the right wing, where Ross made the 15-yard boot to put Thunder ahead 2-1.
The second half was a defensive contest with neither team able to score. Thunder keeper Glen Holmes registered six saves for the game.
In the second match, Thunder dug a hole early in the game and never could dig out. TASC Avalanche struck five minutes into the match with a 10-yard chip from the left side. Two minutes later, the Avalanche made the score 2-0 with a shot from the 18-yard line.
Thunder narrowed the gap when midfielder Branden Zoellner set up center forward Russell Stewart for the score at the 22-minute mark and close the margin to 2-1 at halftime.
The second half was a defensive battle with neither team scoring until the 28th minute when the Avalanche redirected a corner kick from five yards out to seal the game at 3-1. Thunder’s offense was held to only six shots on goal for the game. Holmes collected five saves in goal for Thunder.
Sandhills head coach Mark Stewart praised his team’s play despite the loss. “We played exceptionally well against the Twins in the first game,” he said. “Even though we got knocked down at the start in the second game, we came back and kept things close.”
Stewart cited Silas Cole and Daniel Johnson for outstanding play in Saturday’s competition.
Sandhills Thunder is on the road again this Saturday, traveling to Jamestown to face the Jamestown Jammers in a noon game and the Kernersville Comets in a 4 p.m. contest.
